The Sun. — London, England, 1818-03-14 00:00:00

lota's tho I tilt rt Oi Fong . I.BR COUNTRY. SHIP NEWS. )0 14 wee no 4 [NS I oriv rc.• Ds re- E. edo for u) „•5 Of 11% !r CC' the y I) Ica tbe likely to be impartial, to hare no political controul o r:influence, and may have in a short time as much Property in it,"and consequently have, even in that respect, as stron g a claim as the Duke of Bap- The Chronicle is silly enough to advert to the Dulte, matiere his subscription for HONE and his blasphemous Parodies, as leading,a " re- Irgiotts "-life, granting, however, that political Motive s made him extend " the shield of his pure character " over the Bli;spherner. It may now be presumed that.the Doke of BEDFORD will not here;tfter be quite so anxious to"make an epiito iary appe a l to public opinion, and tht he will " nestly implore The Chronicle not to expose L iin to ritlieule by any further vindication. We calinot eo-nclude•more properly than by quoting a pas sage from The Chronicle, in which, by its Usual blundering ill-luck, it has exactly described itself, li4 THE REVILER .01? .ACTIONS IN OTHERS HE HAD C()MMITTP.D HIMSELF, AND THE C AtIiIN G AND DAILY TRADUCER OF SOME OF THE It°T HONOURABLE AND VIRTUOUS CHARACTERS sir 12$ „"Ar. , , MAactt 13 —Came " down from the River ravourite, BRAVENDER, for Havannab, and l'siled with the ;hole of the outward-bound, ex.! thrlt th e J ava and Lady Carrington Indiamen, for eir respective destinations, with a gentle breeze N• E. Also sailed the whole of the homeward ( "od . for the Ri ver . A l arge fl eet o f ships is t) Rang out of Ramsgate, and are passing through , 1 e Ltowns to the Westward.—We have made .I"4ost strict enquiry respecting ' "eel the vessel men yesterday as b e i ng l ost on the Sands, but • 'omt ascertain any furtherparticulars. PottTsmouTß, MARCH 13.—The wind bas been ~orth nearly all day, which has enabled-the out -1A;"4-hgund to proceed, but it has shifted to the I,> . \l•W this evening. Arrived the sloop Le 41i.1 Esperance f rom . Ch er h urg h . —A seaman, 1 1 4 stated hi ms elf to belong t lr e o the AmericanAltig Fra nc i s , o f Portland, has reported t o us , "on the night - of the 4t I, inst. site struck on a betwe , fn Po , tland and the Needles and totally lost, and only four of the crew saved. le was from. Savannah, with a cargo of tobacco, Bremen. P Lyvou'rn MARCH 12.---Aryived the Tamer - RANK Lit , iro m tne uape o f Good Hope, v orm to Falmo ut h ; b ut l ast night it blew so i eq hard that Captain FRANKLIN COMM not get Into ralmontn, and Was . Ohligetl, in consequence, to ru n f or this port. She sailed from the Cape on th e Ist of Jarniary, and left there the True Briton and Princess Charlotte, for Liverpool, 'and from Helena on the 14th of January. MARCH l3.—Atrived the Perse- HARE, from Gl a s gow , w i t h a general elr ;_ c) 'or London ; w ith lo ss o f ga ff , & c. and prpt-s et windlass upset. r, • AI 4RGA-re, MARCH 13.=—Sailed the Lars? • "ngino, KettNE, for Be nga l ; and the rest of the eat ward bound. Aectuonouoß, ATAEct 13.—The sloop F ree briton MANN, laden with flag stones, from Leeds p t o Col c h ester , was force t ; on shore by the vio 'ettee of the wind anti sea yesterday morning up v‘o Or ford beacon, and immediately went to !tieces—crew saved, Andat .the same time' was r ivet ) on shore, at the entrance of Orford haven, Ze Liberty, BARDWELL„ twin London-with corn "'lyint of th e _ cargo an d crew saved—the vessel ongs to Southsvold. 1, S HIELDS, MARCH 11.---Sailed th e G renv ill e -rk‘ja!it'eryiN.l'WlL LlAMS , f or t h e D avis ' Straits 4 'tie ficillands, ANDREWS, from Cb a l eston to 4isterdAin, an d th e Rose, B ARUY , f rom L yme to htierdeen, were driven' on shore near Fionlogne edne and it is' feared wo uld go to PI S W e rty ? cs crew saved. b:lec ,,, ,, fis have been re ce i ve d o f t h e l oss of a %(iteh 1 4 gun slip, w hi c h sunk near the Cape of t t :" Hope. Sbe was richly laden • with coffee, " was named the Amsterdsm. ti74(l s t)" GIFFORD, EiQ —The rema i ns o f t h is ' c itdar, vowel t oi l W r i ter, genu i ne Put riot, toti.g"t and sagacious Ma g i s t rate , are to he in- RiliAP this day, at Bromley in Kent. The funeral 14 'esituni e J attended, nly by a very f ew i nt i mate L, , 4 among wham are some of the Committee 114 1 1 , 11 PITT CLUB, of which the departed Gen- Was tioNortAßY SECRETARY, a due tribute niernorv, as the impartial BIoGRAPtiEE of 4410411011a] Statesman. M r . G IFFORD has left , fit .4ll ' and seven children, and, t h ere f ore, as h i s ks 1 1, defence of loyalty and the true princi= o,lir unrivalled Constitution are well I t t ,i '1 and much admired, we trust that Govern not neglect the family of so able an ad , anti so strenuous a supporter. 1 Sth 4vIO NSTER.—On Thursday ni g ht, a young 'iciy)arned M a tild a Emery , was walkin g a l ong 4: t a ''v, On h er way f rom a f r i end ' s house to "' her hom e , wihen a man, whose exterior Itip,‘v ilhll l e k ilt) th e a p pearance o f a G entleman, address and•was very i ntrus i ve. He accosted ber ' , l l l ''' 'H ow d o you d o, my dear ;" she walked Niout making any reply ; h e continued to I ' l `:‘v he r , an d a second time addressed her -0,"%v are pm, love," and pushed against her i l Y violently, which caused her to reel some dis iN:e', and hefore she could recover herself, the Clio'l'hati villain ran a sharp instrument into her he. screamed very l ou d, and fell on the pt Ind he ran off the moment h e h ad perpe ., ir4ted the diabolical act. Her exclamation of 14,, 1 ' ! I'm siabbed," brought several persons 14 1 ,7diacely to her assistance, arrd they instantl y -. !,e had gained too k fled him. but unfortunately 11 "I.(%it distance a to be overtaken by the pursuers. I ) 'e female was assisted to St. George's Hospital It Y some strangers;. th e S urgeons examined the : in. 16 4 , 0 . / for/ onately. none of the vitals were tt . ) in- J en • , she was i n great pain, and th e wo un d i s ~, "flitted dangero us . • PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF - LORDS ) FRIDAY, MARCH 13. The House proceeded in Appeals. A local and private Bill were in ought Hp from !be House of Commons by Sir Edward icnatch. bull, Mr. Cawthorne, and other Members, and read a first lime The .Scots Aqua- Vita Bill was read a second time, and committed for Monday. • The Mutiny Act Mistake Bill, the West India Indemnity Bill, the Madder Unties BM, and the Kilmainham Bill,;were read a third time, and passed. • . .'Toe Royal Marine Mutiny Bill, and the Bank Tokens Penalty, Suspension Bill, passed.throngh Committees, and, were reported without amend- meat. aline' ,pearl of Lori n the ; ht t Sign: owea lu es ' biS I at' Chef rani ,usli, rite , rs t ° ilble L ISP: Lor' ft lIP Jo. 011 11i 5 "V ord ttO OFFICES IN REVERSION, &c. The Earl GRosveszoß adverted to the Returns upon the Table respecting Offices granted in Re version in England, and observed that those re specting Ireland and Scotland had .not- been pre sented. He therefore wished to have an order made for their immediate production.. It.appear ed, that since 1806, no Office had been granted in Reversion ; with the exception of those in the gift of the Judges, there had been only one grant in Reversion, and of which he had been informed by the Noble Lord o. the Woolsack, and to this certainly he did net Wal) in the slightest degree to object ; be•ailuded.to tee grant of Baeshot Park to her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester, in the event of ,;,er surviving her Royal Consort. He was, hoevever, of opinion, that thotigh -it might mot be the intention of Government to grant any OfficeS in ; lieyersion, and .though ,reasons might, exist for not lestrietieg the,grants in re version of those offices snide were in the gift or the Judges, still that it ,would,be.advisahle to pass a law to prevent for the future, any such grants. H e wiseed, therefore, to ask, whet her thei e wouli be any objecion on the part, of the 1.1 b.! nisters to a Bill for preventing" the grant 4. 81 4 Offices in Reversion, except those in the gift of the Judges ? The Earl of LIVERPOOL observed, that all the Offices which had been laretofore al times granted in Reversion, such as rlre Telltrships of the Ex chequer, the Chief Justiceships in Eyre, &c. were now. either abolished or regulated by Act of Par liament, so that. they could not be granted in Reversion. Tile only remaining Office about which there could be any political contest, was that of Clerk of the Parliam, tits, and this it was intended, like the others, to subject to regula tions, so as to preclude also any grant of it ; :in Reversion. .Under these circumstances, he could not see any necessity whatever for such a Bill as chat mentioned by the Noble Earl, which could be of no use whateve r w ith regar d to Offices, but which might be injurious in other respects. The grant, for instance, to her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester, of Bagshot Park, in the event of her surviving his Royal Highness the Dohe of Gloucester, cotild not, he was convinced, he objected to by any one, and yet, by such a Bill as that suggested by the Noble Earl, the power of the Crown might with respect to this have been impeded in its operation. • In the case also of pensions -granted to the daughters of Officers, either civil or military, and which were trifling in amount..not exceeding 1001. or 2001. per annum, it was fftquently the case that an increased pen sion was granted to the survivot or survivors, and it would be productive also frequently of the most unpleasant consequences, if the power of the Cru sn was in this respect 'cirtuniscribed. The therefore, suggested by the Noble Earl, could not possibly be of any use, whilst it - might be pro ductive of unpleasant consequences. The Earl of .(inosvereoß allowed that what had been stated by the Noble Earl deserved consi deration, but still he thought that as offices for merly efficient had in the progress of time become sin , cures tend objects of grants in reversion, so i mig;it happen with other offices, which could no now be so granted. He should not, however, a present press any measure, but regulate his con duct according to circumstances J-iis Lordship then moved, that toe returns from Scotland and Ireland be laid before the HottsefotthWith, which was ordered. Che M4upis of LANSDOWNE, with reference to the tnew,ure of last Session for the regulation of offices, observed that there were other offices which still remained to be regulated, pi:rico_ . larlv in Ireland, and• wished to know whether it was intended to bring i;i any Bill for tie pur pose of regulating the offices to which he h4tl luded ? The Earl LivEuponi, said, that the subject alluded to by the Noble Marquis was ender inves tigation, and he would let him know when the result was ascertained. The offices in England had already been regulated. MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. On the question for the third reading of the Mutiny Bill, Earl GROSVENOR, in pursuance of his notice, rose to move an amendment thereto. It was his intention, he said, to move the introduction of an amendment in t!►e preamble of the Bill, for the purpose of reducing the number of the forces pro posed as the Military Establishment for the year. He must, in the strongest manner, elite, his. solemn protest against such an enormous Milita►y Establishment at the present moment—a time of proloothl peace throughout all Europe, and when the finances of the country were so little able to bear such an expence. His Lordship then pro ceeded at some length to enter into a detailed vi e w of the subject, in which be generally im pugned the , xtent of the Establishment as pro posed, by the Bill as unnecessary, extravagant, or unconstitutional—the last in the view of keeping on foot such a large standing army at a period of -profound peace. The Pesce Establishment, as proposed, after long and elaborate consideration, he thought would be a preferable model ; and he glanced at the present military establishment of the United States of America, which did not ex , ceed 8000 regular troops. With respect to Ire land, if the important national qUestion of the Catholic Claims had been properly decided, and wise regulations respecting the distilleries adopt ed, he thought a much luss force th an that now. propcsed for that couutry would do. ,The home establishments he thought excessive, and upon rthe whole, when he felt so satisfied as to the loyal and tranquil dispositions of the great body of the people, be could not regard the keeping up such an enormous•force but as a species of slander noon his countrymen. He. was confident of their at tachment to the Constitution of the Country. He must protest agsiust : the idea : , that because people were inimical to the Ministers ihey %vete there' 7 fore, as a corollary,, to be deemed inimical to the Coostitution.. None could forget that the trea son of last year was gent , Ily put down by a ser ;cant and eighteen dragoons. If he entertained no other objection to, the maintaining such a au 7 merous body of military troups.upon the Conti nent (which a Noble _Earl, out a former night', had asserted did not cost the, Country a shilling), still that . which he entertained upon politico or constitutional grounds was enough to decide. him ,against the measure. He hiked not con tact with , the military despotic Powers of 111:! Continent, as such tended to infuse uticonqitu tional principles Dad bad habits into the soldiery, at least for the meridian of this country. The Noble Earl concluded by moving, as nu amend- , 1 mew, that instead of 113,640, 100,000 . men should . be inserted in the Bill. Earl BATHURST,. in'•an able and spirited dis cussion of some length, succesfftilly combated the leading positions of the Noble Earl. 'Abe prtsent circumstances of the country bore no comparison with those irr which it stood in 1S06; zhe relereuce, he thought, was by means ap plicable. With respect to its extensh'e Colonies, the country was placed in a situation far different from that of any former period ; .and its the refe rence to the establishment of. the United States, the s eonsideratinn ofits numerous militia was not included. ,r2lie Noble Earl's idea, upon which he dwelt most forcibly, seemed to rest. upon a sup position, that the force. so kept up had nothing to do but to enslave the people ! Let their Loft:snips for a moment consider the distribution of the force. In North Britain, there .was the nume rous and overwhelming force of 2,soo.mencept up. If the Scots were capable of being enslaved, did the Noble Earl think that 2,500 men could effect the work ? A numerous portion of the troops in England were stationed along the coasts, in order to check the contraband trade ; thereby contributing to the important object of a due col lection of the revenue. With respect to any.idea of keeping down, or acting unconstitutionally against the people of England, in the great body of the country, what number of troops did their Lordships think were applicable ? Why, with the exception of the London service, and a district of 25 miles round it, there were the immense num ber of 4000 men ! The service of the dock-yards occupied a comparatively _ considerable number; and with respect to the service of the metropolis, the necessary number for that duty was usually calculated -on a principle that the number of troops engaged for thai purpose should be equi valent to the proportion of three nights in bed for one on duty; but, in the present instance, the number of men was so restricted as not to allow them more than two nights in bed for. one ,on duty. A fair and candid view of the whole amount and distribution would, he hoped, establish..the pla - i - intelligible proposition in the conviction of their Lordships, that a greater force was ❑ot kept np than the circumstances of the, empire rendered necessary. Earl 6aosvENoa.spoke at some length in ex planation. After which the question was put, and the amendment was negatived 'without a di vision.—Adjourned till Monday. HOUSE OF COMMONS. A Bill tor making roads to Waterloo-bridge was read a first time and second time. A,Petition was received from Montrose, praying exemption fur that burgh, as to the Scots Lunatics' Bill, LEATHER TRADE. Petitions were received front the Tanners, &c. Of Bishops. castle and other places. • • HABEAS CORPUS. Mr. Alderman WOOD presented a petition from King's Lynn, in Norfoik, against. indemnity fur Ministers. • TITHES. A Petition was received froth the University of Oxford, on the subject' of the Tithes' Bill. POOR . Mr. STURGES BOURNE m LAWS oveitthe 2d reading of the Poor Laws P ar i s h J ust i ces ' Bill . Alderman WOOD made some remarks. He observed, that in the city it had been found necessary by the Magistrates to send 100 in a day to Bridewell;most of whom were in a state of distress. Magistrates were compelled to commit for seven days. There was a large penalty on passmasters, yet a great proportion of the persons passed usually escaped. He should wish, instead of the present mode, that a fine of 20s. or 40s. should he imposed on passmasters, and that the MagiStrates should have•power of exacting it summarily Mr. STURGES BOURNE thought that there were provi sions in the Bill which would meet the Hon. Member's views. The Bill went through the Committee ; and the Report was received, and ordered to be considered on the Bth of April. Mr. STURGES BOURNE then brought tip the Poor Laws' Amendment Bill, which was read a first and second time, committed, and the Report ordered fur the Bth of April. A Petition was received fronts the Grand Junction Water Works' CoMpany. LEATHER. Lord ALTHORP brought up a Bill for repealing the ad ditional Ditties on Leather. Mr. LUSHINGTON said there was no intention to oppose the first reading, The Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second tiite on the Gth of April. REFORM. Sir FRANCIS BURDETT presented a petition from Holbeach, praying for a radical reform, and universal suf frage, by ballot.—Ordered to lie on the table, and to be printed. Mr. W. SMITH presented a Petition from King's Lynn, praying against indemnity to Ministers. The petition was respectful to the House, but he did not know whether it was respectful to Ministers. SA E.T. Mr. CALCRAFT moved for ctrtain Accounts of net and gross produce of Salt Duties, for the purpose of information to the Couunittee.—Ordered. TITHE LAWS' AMENDMENTS. Some conversation took place respecting. the Tithe Amend ments Bill, which, as the Indemnity Bill stood for that day, Mr. Brougham wished Mr. Curwen to postpone. Mr. CURW EN had no objection to a postponement. Sir W. SCOTT wished for an early consideration of the Tithes Bill. Mr. BROUGHAM said, nobody was more anxious than himself for an early consideration of the subject. By the pe titions presented he perceived that alarm had been excited. Mr. CURWEN said he was desirous of an early day, and hoped that'all alarms would be removed. Sir W. SCOTT explained. The Tithes' Bill was postponed to Monday. The Bill was then ordered to be read a second time on Monday. EASTER RECESS. In answer to a qUestion from Lord ARCHIBALD HA MILTON, Lord CASTLEREAGH observed (as was under stood), that it was intended to propose' an adjournment on Thursday next. PORTER - BREWERS. On the resumption of the debate on the Petition respecting Jae porter brewer s , Mr. CALVERT said, that he was prepared with statements sufficient to • refute all the charges which had been made against the. London Brew, rs. It. was not, however, nis in tenths!' to`trespass on the time of the house at any length, pixtienlarty tithe House should feel inclined to refer the Pe tition presented to them to a Committee. Tuns Pet itio coo t tined seriout and grave chOrgesag.iinSt the Brewer , such'as that they weee in the constaut habit of nothing and sellinga o the public apernicious hea - erage. He did not wish to go into the subject farther. if any Gentleman would move, or g i ve notice of a motion, for a Committee, Mr. LOCKHART said, he had pledged himself to nothing, hint that he had thought it his duty to present the Petition. Mr. W. SMITH had inciniredinto this sidaject, and thought if 'the Honourable Member who preseuted the petition moved for a Committee, it would heavise to agree it.' He did not, nevertheless, see that any case was made out to put the Brewers on th e i r defence; additional yet ffilitional evidence might be proper in a Committee, it it 'Could be given. The whole charges against the - great Brewers were, adulteration and monopoly. Bat it was tired that, to show the effects of mo nopoly, quatity and price should Isecoo.iidere4 together. The petition did nut prove' the points as to quality. The charge as to adulteration must he •in most respects absurd. Every one knew that the laws on this subject • were too severe to render it even worth while for a great brewer to violate them. Besides, they could not do it 'without its having publicity; .the serearos onnhiyed, and the neighbours, must know of it. How most sail) a practice be with his Lion. Friend's brewery, wherein a,•,;,0o0 barrels aye-al-were lerewed. The accusation was itoprolMbl e and absurd; the he,iriag of it contained a re futatirin of it. • He should not ,!r 7e the app o i n t men t o f a Committee, unless the petitioners desired it. Mt • P.,MOORE said be understood that the Honourable Member wh; Preset', ed the petition had no particular ulterior but it seas of importance to consider the question of th , petitioners' resporisibiiity on the charges they made. In another way of proceeding, the frinner of the charges might haVe stood the chance of the pillory. Applications tot sub scriptions, lie understood, had •been canvassed for in 'this metropolis. He. himself had been applied to. The question of the breweries WAS, 9f great importauce to the revenue. Mr. CALVERT felt it necessary to refute sonic parts of a. Petition so scandalous in its statements, but he would take tip as little time as possible. The charges were,of monopoly, of the. , use of deleterious , articles, and of advance of the price of beer unjustly. It appeared to him that little or no thing need be said on the Charge of monopoly. He might refer. members. to the Report of the Committer. They amight, by examining the circumstances, see that the mo tion was ridiculous. Nothing was more unfounded Phan what . Mr. Beaumont had said about the capriciousness and wantonness of the brewers respecting their prices. In 1802, good grounds existed, for what they did, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer had informed them of his intentions to increase - the ditties. There wds a great increase by the war duty on malt, which was'disadvantageons to the brewer. The price was lowered when the war duties ceased, which made the difference of Ifis. It would he too tedious to the House if he Were to go through items. Looking hack as far as 1762, it would be found that the price of malt was 19s. 6d. and of hops, 50s. ; but they had risen to 60s. odd, and to 14 guineas. In .contradiction to what was asserted, he could say, that for two' years after 1799, the brewers, instead of making profits, were losing part of their capital. There was an advance in 1801; but all the circumstances fair), consi dered would justify the brewers. As to the use of deleterious artielei, he' trusted he had no necessity of saying in that House that the brewers were not in the habit of using them, as it was charged, day by day. He trusted it was not neces- I sary for hint to dwell on that subject, which•was so much connected with the character of the great brewers. Beaumont bad said that. it was proved by legal proceedings that other ingredients than malt and hops were made use of. Some years back (five or six) the Editor of a ti eehly Paper in London had libelled the London porter-brewers, and stated they made use of tobacco, deadly nightshade, and mix cornice. The brewers wished to prosecute a libel of this nature. An affidavit was made by a proprietor of a large brewery, denying this statement, and which was farther strengthened by the affidavit of the person himself who was the actual brewer. The Court was of opinion that the application for a rule for criminal information was not sufficient as to questions of sale. The brewers thought it. was suffieicia for an ap plication to the Judges. No rule was granted ; but, on the last day of the term, liberty was given to move in next term. Before that next term, the Editor of the Weekly Paper alluded to wrote a penitential letter, in which he said ha had copied the article, and requested his (Mr. Calvert's) inter cession to ,prevent prosecution. He declined taking any part in the business; but the request (tithe editor's letter was complied with, after the opinion of Sir William Garrow and other lawyers was taken as to the effects of application by affidavit. The petition had been hawked about the streets for signa tures. He earnestly hoped that a Committee would be ap pointed to inquire fully into all the circumstances connected with this subject, in order that it might be seen how little cre dit was doe to the different statements of the petition now before them, and that Mr. Beaumont might be exhibited in his proper colours, as a disappointed Magistrate, who bad failed in his object of exercising the' conunisston for his own private ends. Mr. LOCKHART said, he knew nothing of Mr. Beaumont, and consequently could say little as to the motives that might possibly have prompted him to take an active part in this business. He conceived that the private motives of that in dividual was a consideration not entitled to much weight on any view of this subject. He had found the petition signed by 14,000 individuals, and purporting to convey their senti ments; and when desired to present it to that House, he thought it his duty to present it. It had heel, said, that such an attack on -some respectable establishments was libel lous ; but, if grievances did exist, why should it be libel lous to state then ? If such a principle were allowed, the right of petitioning Might be considered as totally abolished. With respect to the charges made against the brewers, the two Hots. Gentlemen who had spoked from their own experi ence might be allowed to answer for themselves, and their con duct might be above suspicion. Their honourable characters and independent fortanes placed th em a b ove th e reach oft he corn- . . mon temptations to the practices complained of : but this was no security that others conducted themselves with equal fair ness. With respect to the licensing system, it appeared, by the Report of the Police Committee, th it there were some parts of it which required - .recision. To gratify the Hon. Gent lcman, and to afford bins the opportunity of meeting the allegations of the Petition, be should move that it should be referred to a Committee. Mr. BARCLAY - expressed his satisfaction with the course adopted. The. SPEAKER said, that it was at the discretion of the original Moyer to withdraw the first motion, and to substi tute the present. Mr. LtiCKHART then withdrew his original motion, and moved that the petition be.reterred to a Select Committee. The petition was accordingly referred. Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY presented a Petition from Robert Swinton, in the Town of Chester, complaining of harsh and cruel treatment, under the suspension of the Habeas Corpus. The Hon. Member said, he had alluded the other night to the case of this individual for the purpose of bringing it un der notice, and affording ministers an opportunity of ex plaining or contradicting the statements which had appeared in the public papers. No explanation, however, was given, and perhaps that Petitio n was d es ti ne d, at some future pf:- rind, to furnish topics of merriment, in order to relieve some future debate. The Petition was ordered to be laid on the table, and to he printed.—The Hon. Member then presented a Petition' from certain persons in Haverfordwest, praying that no alteration might take place in the laws of convey ancing. Nlr.. LYrr LETON presented a petition to prevent unqua lified Conveyancing.—Ordered to lie on the table. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. • Sir G. CLERK said, that on a former occasion the consi deration of some plan for the equalization of weights sod measures had been suspended, on the understanding that 4 commission would be issued to ce rtain members of the Royal Society who should be appointed to inquire into the subject. That (:onitoission, as far as he understood, had never yet been issued; and if he could not learn that something would he soon done, he would take an early opportunity, after the re cess, of snaking a motion for bringing in a Bill on the subject. Mr. BRAGGE BATHURST professed himself unable to give any information on the subject, but said he would make 41 variety - of accounts were then moved for; respecting the transportation of convicts to New South Wales, of the nu►o ber of those who died on their passage, of the number dis charged for the last three years from the hulks, distinguish ing the numbers for each year, also of those whose punish ment had expired, and of those who had been pardoned. The Greenland Fishery Oaths' Bill went through a Com mittee. INDEMNITY BILL. The ATTORNEY-GENPRAL having moved the Order 01 the Day for the third reading of tt.le Indemnity Bill, Sir JOHN NEWPORT said, the principal amend ment he had to propose related to the preamble of the Bill. What he should propose world come in alter the words—°f Whereas some of the said Acts w ay nut have been just in law, but havhig